Welcome to Rock Island
Getaway Weekend VI - June 17th through 20th 2010
Rock Island is Wisconsin's most remote State Park and by far
one of the most beautiful. Cars and even bikes are not
allowed on the 912-acre island, making for an experience unlike any
other. There are 10 miles of hiking trails, including a
one-mile interpretive trail, a naturalist program, and 5,000 feet
of beach. The camping is considered rustic but pit toilets,
picnic tables, and fire rings are provided. There is drinking
water near the dock and boathouse. Firewood is for sale at
$5.50 a rick. There are no carts or equipment for hauling
camper supplies and equipment so you will have to plan to bring
your own.
The Event
AstroD-Team is your new event hosts for this years Rock Island
Getaway. While there are a few changes to pass along to you, we
plan to continue with the general laid back theme of the
weekend.
First and most important, the dates for this years event are
from Thursday, June 17th to Sunday, June 20th. That's right, an
extra day for those that want to come up early. Second, we have
secured Group Site One for the whole weekend, including Thursday
Night.
The caching event itself is free. However, there are
costs involved in getting to the island. See the Getting
There section for more details on the Ferry fees and
schedules. If you are planning on staying in Group site one
(for all three days or just one or two), we are asking for $10.00
per caching team to help cover the cost of the rental fee.
This is a very reasonable price as a regular camp site rental is
$12.00 per night. If you are planning on attending, post your
"will attend" note and whether you will be staying in the group
site or not, and what day you plan on arriving. Send us an
email if you want to pay us in advance. Any money collected
over and above the site rental cost will go toward purchasing group
firewood for the weekend.
Caching and
Activities
Rock Island has seven permanent caches and Washington Island
has an additional fourteen permanent caches for your
enjoyment. We may plant a night cache or two after we arrive
on Thursday, otherwise we were not planning on placing temp
caches. If a group wanted to go up a weekend or two before to
plant some temps, feel free.
Other activites include the infamous GPSr hospital repair, the
beer and wine tasting party, Becky's Story Book, hanging out at the
rock furniture, the boathouse, or on the trails, sharing caching
experiences with a varied group of geocachers, and lamenting or
yodeling in the joys of the different types of caches out there.
Also, group hunts to the permanent caches on Rock Island.
Just to be perfectly clear, this weekend event is about
hanging out with cachers and sharing stories rather than finding
caches.
Getting There
Take Wisconsin Highway 42 to its end at Northport, the tip of
the Door County peninsula. Take the Washington Island Ferry
to Washington Island. The ferry carries people, vehicles,
bicycles, and freight. Take County Highway W to the opposite
end of Washington Island. Leave your vehicle or bike there
and take the passengers-only Rock Island Ferry to Rock
Island.
There are fees for both ferries. The 2010 Washington
Island Ferry fees are $25.00 per car plus $11.50/adult passenger
and $5.50/child passenger under 11. The Rock Island Karfi
rates are $11.00/adult and children over the age of 11 and
$6.00/child under the age of 11, all round trip, and includes
hauling your camping gear. The Karfi leaves Washington Island
at 10:00 am, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm daily.
Visitors may take their boats to Rock Island, but caution is
urged since Lake Michigan and Green Bay can be hazardous due to
reefs and storms. There is a nightly fee of $1 per foot of
boat length for all boats mooring overnight at Rock Island.
Previous
Events
Please join us for Rock Island Getaway VI. You know you
want to!